Canora Tim Hortons first in Sask. to unionize

The Tim Hortons in Canora has made history, becoming the first in Saskatchewan to unionize.

“About three weeks ago, they opened the ballot box, counted the ballots, it was a 100 per cent vote for the union,” Vasantha Gunaratna with the Workers United Canada Council told CTV News in a phone interview.

The seven employees at the Canora Tim Hortons voted to join Workers United Canada. That union represents around 10,000 workers across the country in a number of different fields.

The union was then certified by the Saskatchewan Labour Relations Board, making the Canora location the first unionized Tim Hortons in the province.

Amenity Health Care owns the Canora franchise. The company also owns the drugstore attached to the Tim Hortons and several other businesses around Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

“We have heard from the company and they are willing to start negotiations,” Gunaratna said.

Amenity argued to the Labour Relations Board that two of the seven workers were actually supervisors. But, the board ruled that shift supervisors spend most of their time doing the same work as the other employees and “have little, if any, effective control or authority over their fellow employees.”

“We are hoping that we will have a smooth process, but you never know,” Gunaratna said. “We’re looking forward to getting a collective agreement for the workers.”

Although the union is now approved, the labour board has to settle an unfair labour practice filed against the Workers United Canada Council before the union can move forward. That will be heard in May.

In the meantime, the two parties are expected to start negotiations in April.

Based on a report by CTV Yorkton's Cole Davenport

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